Emma Gonzalez: What Our Membership Director Hears on Every Tour

Emma Gonzalez is the Membership Director at The West Side Tennis Club. She has given hundreds of tours, answered hundreds of questions, and helped prospective members find their footing long before they ever set foot on a court. 

She shares the questions she hears most and what she tells people when they ask.

Every Tour Starts the Same

Before I take anyone outside to see the courts or walk them through the clubhouse, I ask them important questions. How far did you travel today? What's your tennis background, if any? And is this your first time at the club?

These tell me almost everything I need to know. If someone commuted from Brooklyn, that's different than if they live two blocks away. If they've never held a racquet, I’ll know which parts of the club to lean into. If they played in college, I'll focus on our league teams, clinics and court availability. Some have walked past the club a hundred times but never come inside, and they just needed someone to open the door.

I can usually tell within the first few minutes whether someone is going to join. Some people walk in and I can see it immediately, they're already sold and just going through the process. Others I can tell aren't quite the right fit, and that's okay too.

What I've learned is that the people who do end up joining aren't all the same. They just each found their thing here.

"Is This Just a Tennis Club?"

I get this one a lot, and I completely understand why. People see courts, racquets, and tennis players who have been playing their whole lives. That stops a lot of them right away.

Surprisingly, quite a few of our members don't even play. We have trivia nights, wine tastings, book clubs, wellness days, yoga on the grass courts, and a dining room that people love.

The pool is a major destination in the summer. There are concerts with 30-plus events a year in a 14,000-seat stadium where the Beatles once performed. Members get priority access, pre-sale tickets, entry through a private venue entrance, and access to the club’s speakeasy.

So when someone asks me that question, I tell them: "The name is a starting point, not a boundary."

"What If I'm Not a Strong Player?"

This is the hesitation I hear most, and I get it personally. I've worked here for six years and I am, I admit, not great.

What I tell people is that beginners are genuinely welcomed here. We run clinics year-round for people who have never played. If you want to compete on league teams someday, that path is there. If you want to run around the court with your friends and not keep score, that's just as wonderful.

I often tell people: "It doesn’t matter what level you are. Everyone has a place here."

"Is This Worth the Commitment?"

Membership at The West Side Tennis Club is a full-year commitment, and that might surprise people who think they can join for just the summer or renew month-to-month. I always try to be upfront about why that framing matters and why it works in the member's favor.

This is a community, and communities take time to build. A lot of people think the social membership is essentially a summer pool membership, three months and you're done. But there's a full year of programming here;events where you will meet friends, other families, people with similar interests.

The financial piece is real, and I'm always clear about it. We offer different membership categories based on age, if you're joining individually, as a couple, or as a family. My job is to make sure you're in the right category for your situation.

"When Is the Right Time to Join?"

I always say the sooner, the better.

I hear "I wish we'd joined sooner" more than almost anything else, especially from families. They wait until their kids are old enough for the junior programs and then realize they missed two or three years of summers they could have spent here together. The programs start at age four. You don't have to wait.

The other timing piece people miss is the application process itself. Joining The West Side Tennis Club involves a formal process. There are bylaws, a membership committee, and steps that take real time. If you wait until Memorial Day weekend to start, you might miss the bulk of June. The best time to begin is in the first quarter of the year, so that by the time outdoor season opens, you're already in.

Don't wait for “perfect” timing. Come see the club for yourself. Spring is here, and there's no better time to see what a Saturday afternoon at The West Side looks like.

We'd love to show you around.

— Emma Gonzalez, Membership Director, The West Side Tennis Club